It might not be too unexpected to find that the next expression of the New Age movement expanding among aging baby boomers is near-death spirituality and practice, but more surprising is that its one-time strong evangelical supporters are increasingly divided about the phenomenon, according to two studies. At the recent meeting of the American Academy […]
Online churches report growth and continuing innovation
Churches involved in online ministries, or completely online with little physical presence, are showing continued expansion and experimentation with new technology, reports the evangelical magazine Ministries Today (November/December). Although the article does not provide a count of online churches, two of the pioneers of these ministries, Bobby Gruenewald of Life.Church, and Nathan Clark of Northland, […]
Current Research: December 2015
01:The use of personal computers and mobile technology to read the Bible may lead to a tradeoff of positive and negative effects, including increased reading, but also a sense of loss in the Bible’s uniqueness and new problems in interpretation of the text, according to a survey of digital use of the scriptures in the […]
Findings & Footnotes: December 2015
01: There has been a steady stream of recent books on atheism and secularism in less than a year. They range from studies of the broader phenomenon of secularism to more specific examinations of atheist groups, movements and practices (including RW’s editor and co-author Christopher Smith’s Atheist Awakening). American Secularism (NYU Press, $27), by Joseph […]
Featured Story: Rise of the ‘nones’ driven by technology — or is it family values?
As the rates of the non-affiliated (or “nones”) grow, researchers have been busy seeking the source of this disenchantment with religious institutions and why it seems most prevalent among young people. In a paper presented at the recent meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (SSSR) in Newport Beach, Calif., Paul McClure […]
Muslim conversions to Christianity growing, facing identity dilemmas
A “global census” of Muslims who have become Christians estimates that the largest numbers are found in Asia, followed by Africa and North America, and totaling nearly 10 million. The census was conducted by Duane Alexander Miller and Patrick Johnstone and is published in the current issue of The Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion […]
Current Research: November 2015
01: While religious freedom has become a publicized and politicized issue among Christians, most denominations have not given it high priority, according to a recent study. In their recent book The Church and Religious Persecution (Calvin College Press), political scientists Kevin den Dulk and Robert Joustra find that nearly half of prominent American and Canadian […]
Caliphate low on Islamic State fighters’ priorities
While the fighters for the Islamic State may be devout Muslims, their motivations are far from being dictated by the radical movement and its dream of a worldwide caliphate, writes Lydia Wilson in The Nation magazine (Oct. 21). Wilson and her colleagues interviewed imprisoned ISIS fighters in Iraq and found that they were “woefully ignorant […]
Findings & Footnotes: November 2015
01: A movement of scientists and environmental thinkers and activists embracing evolution as a kind of secular religion comes under scrutiny and critique in the current issue of the Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture (9.2). Such thinkers and scientists as Richard Dawkins and E.O. Wilson have charged that the traditional religious […]
On/File: November 2015
01: A recent effort known as the Jewish Community Legacy Project (JCLP) helps disappearing Jewish communities plan on what assets they will leave behind. In a place such as Pocahontas, Va., both the general and Jewish population declined as coal mining diminished. After the Jewish community there disappeared, the community of nearby Bluefield took over […]